Boris Karloff (Dr. Bernard Adrian) plays a doctor whose desire to find a cure for a paralysis disease - resembling polio - get the best of his moral compass - particularly after seeing positive results in his attempt to cure Maris Wrixon (Frances Clifford). His descent into serial murder and success with his patient does not help him in the end. Karloff shows off his sweet temperament here to great effect. The rest of the cast are adequate. The plot is nothing great, but serviceable for a "B" movies script - it gets the job done and the cautionary tale told.

The guinea pig scene was... beyond words.

Familiar plot: misunderstood scientist who becomes overly zealous in the quest to save mankind. But in spite of (or because of) his dubious methods, mankind benefits, while the only satisfaction afforded the "mad" scientist is in seeing his theory proven, albeit at a cost not all will accept as justified.

Jump to the scene where Karloff demonstrates his theories to a suspicious investigator by showing him two guinea pigs that he sets on the table. Keep your eye on the one on the right!

All in all, this is a good little picture, with Karloff in typically fine form as the well-meaning, sympathetic scientist driven to dark deeds by circumstances and coincidences beyond his control.

from IMDB:
Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad
scientist who seeks to cure a young
woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid
from a human to complete the formula
for his experimental serum. Meanwhile,
a vicious circus ape has broken out of
its cage, and is terrorizing
townspeople.
-Written by Marty McKee {mmckee@wkio.com}

The Ape presents the standard tale of a ethically challenged physician searching for the cure to a crippling, deadly disease. His 25-year single-minded quest, exacerbated by the loss of his daughter and wife to the 'paralysis' (resembling polio, though never named), drives him to murder for the key ingredient to a cure.

A killer ape, escaped from a circus, invades his home. He kills it and disguises himself as the ape, which is his eventual undoing, in order to hunt his victim.

Good performances, a few laughs, the Jekyll and Hyde metaphor and an unusual ending with a questionable moral make this a film worth watching.

I downloaded and watched the 256Kb MPEG4 file. The video was OK, but the audio hissed throughout.

Low-budget 'Monogram Pictures' film featuring Boris Karloff as a scientist (of questionable sanity and methods) experimenting with a cure for spinal disease. Worth watching for Karloff's fans.

the ape 1943